Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Knauf Insulation has completed its acquisition of Guardian Insulation. The transaction includes Guardian Fiberglass and Guardian Laminated Building Products. Guardian Fiberglass will be integrated into Knauf Insulation and Guardian Laminated Building Products has become Silvercote, LLC.

"This is a landmark day for Knauf Insulation. This acquisition is an important step in our mission to become the global leader in energy efficient systems for buildings," said Mark Andrews, CEO of Knauf Insulation in North America. "Combining the talent from two complementary organisations will help to create an exceptional company with leadership in technology, innovation and sustainability. Our customers are going to see clear benefits, not the least being greater flexibility that comes with an expanded manufacturing footprint. With more than double the production capacity of glass mineral wool at our disposal, this integration will certainly position Knauf Insulation as a leading manufacturer throughout North America that is more than capable of meeting the needs of a growing market."

Kazakhstan/China/Russia: Russia's TechnoNicol will invest Euro12.4m to build a 300,000m²/yr capacity extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) insulation plant in the Karaganda Region of Kazakhstan. The plant will start production in 2016. Its products will be supplied to all regions of Kazakhstan and south Asia.

Israel: The release of asbestos fibres from hundreds of roofs that were shattered by missiles fired on southern Israel has caused a spreading environmental hazard, according to state authorities. A plan to remove and replace all of the asbestos roofs built in the border area before 2015 was announced.

Asbestos roofs are becoming a dangerous threat, according to the Environmental Protection minister Amir Peretz. "I have informed the regional council that, in order to protect residents from the threat of asbestos, we will prepare a joint programme with all the relevant bodies to replace the asbestos roofs on hundreds of houses along the front line with Gaza," said Peretz.

Israel banned the use of asbestos in building projects in 2005. Replacing all asbestos roofs in the Gaza perimeter region will cost an estimated US$2.3m, part of which will be covered by the residents.

US: Johns Manville (JM) has announced that it will merge its American, European and Asian activities for engineered products into one global business unit. JM's engineered products business manufactures glass and polyester nonwoven products for the building and construction industry, filtration and battery separation media, reinforcement glass fibres for composites and specialty industrial glass products. JM said that the reorganisation will enhance its ability to serve increasingly global needs in the composites, filtration and energy storage markets.

"Transitioning to one engineered products organisation furthers our global reach while maintaining the regional support our customers require," said JM's president and CEO, Mary Rhinehart. "The new structure allows us to build on what we already do well in different regions. It will expedite our growth and help us deliver an even more powerful JM experience to our customers and our employees."

Previously, JM operated two engineered products business units: one for the Americas and one for Europe and Asia. The realignment keeps some of the regional components, mostly within the nonwovens business, while the composites, filtration and energy storage businesses will be managed more globally.

Enno Henze, who is responsible for JM's nonwovens, fibres and glass textiles businesses in Europe, as well as its nonwovens business in China, will lead the newly created Engineered Products business as senior vice president and general manager. Henze will relocate to JM's global headquarters in Denver, USA from Germany to lead the Engineered Products business. Henze said that the new organisation is designed to support JM's Engineered Products customers worldwide.

Denmark: Rockwool has reported that during the first quarter of 2014, which ended on 31 March 2014, it generated sales of Euro485m, up by 15% year-on-year.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were Euro28.4m, up by 39% year-on-year, including Euro7.40m from the insulation sector, which was a Euro4.9m increase on the same period of 2013. EBIT for holding companies was Euro11.8m, up by Euro1.7m. Net profit during the quarter was Euro19.1m, a Euro5.8m improvement on 2013. Costs were Euro1.6m, down by Euro0.5m in 2013.

External sales of insulation products were Euro374m, up by 9% compared to the same period of 2013. In Eastern Europe, sales increased by 20%, primarily due to continued positive growth in Russia and a good market recovery in Poland. Insulation sales were positive in all world regions except for China.

Rockwool expects to achieve Euro127m in net profit for the whole of 2014 off the back of continued market recovery in many regions, particularly Russia.